Thomas a



(No Model.)

- T. A. DAVIES.

GENTBAL' RAIL FASTENING. w No. 376.945,. Patented Jan. 24, 1888.

ATTORNEYS.

, To all whom it may concern.-

UNITED STATES v OFFICE-Q; it

THOMAS A. DAVIES, on'nn w YORK, N. Y. e

CENTRAL RAIL-FASTENING,

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 376,945, dated January 24, 1888.

Application filed October 4, 1887. Serial No. 251,424. (No model.) I

. Be it known that I, THOMAS A. DAVIES, of the city, county, and State of New York, have invented a new and Improved Central Rail- Fastening,of whichlthe following isa full,clear, and exact description.v

My invention relates to a central fastening for railroad-rails, and has for its object to provide a means whereby the railswill be pre-. vented from creeping, and wherein a reduced and simple fish-platemay be employed to connect the rails, and the said fish plates be called upon to serve simply as connecting-plates.

'The invention ,consists in the construction and combination of' the several parts, as will be hereinafter fully set forth, and pointed out in the claims.-

Reference is to beQhad to the accompanying drawings, forming a part of this specification, in which similar letters of reference indicate corresponding parts in all the figures.

Figure 1' is a transverse section through a rail and tie. having the central fastening ap plied, and Fig. 2 is a'section on line 00a: of Fig. 1. Fig. 3 is a plan view.

It is the prime object of the present inven- I tion to'prevent thecreeping of railroad-rails, and at the sametime' to take the burden of wear and tear from the fish-plates, leaving said plates to simply perform the duties originally demanded of the'm-namely, that of a connection between abutting rails. In carrying out this object, at or about the center of each rail an angle-plate, A, is made to bear againstthe web of the railB and upon the upper inclined face of the base,- conforming to theun'ited contour of said web and base, as illustrated in Fig.

The plates A need not be made of very great 7 width, and are placed in alignment one with the other, as shown in Figs. 1 and 3, upon opposite sides of the rail, being held in engagement with the web by bolts d,passing through the latter and the plates, onebolt being all that is ordinarily requisite. A

f The lates areheld in contact with the bat of the rails by spikes D, passed, through the aforesaid slotsb and driven securely Into the tie. The spike I prefer to use in connection with the fastening, and which isillustrated in Fig. 2, 'has been secured to me by Letterslat, ent dated August 23, 1887, No. 368,818, and ,7

I therefore lay no special claim thereto in this application. Y

When a central fastenln g as above described. I

is used in connection with a rail, it is evident that the simplest form of fish-plate'may beemployed with perfectresults, and the said fishplate need notin any instance be boltedthrough the base or to the ties, as allthe work required creeping and relieving the fish-plate'from the burden of friction they have heretoforebee'n subjected to.

The fastening herein presented obviates also i I any necessity for notching the bases of rails,

which greatlyweakensthem,:often causing a serious break.

I do not confine myself to one set of angle-- plates, norto placing a'single set at the center of the rails, as one or more sets of plates may be positioned at any point in thelengt'h of the rails away from the fish-plates. The angleplatesm'ay be made of suitable metal, and the form maybe varied without departing from the spiritof the invention. The shape illustrated is, however, preferred.

Having this fully described myinvention, what I claim as new, and desire to secure by LettersPatent, isi I i 1. The combinatiom'with rails united by fishplates, of opposing angleplates located sub stantially centrallyof the rails in engagement with the web and base, a fastening device passing through said web and plates, and spikes passing through the platesouly and into the from creeping and the fish-plates preserved from rapid wear, as set forth. a

2. The combinatiomwith rails united by fishplates, of opposing angle-plates'located sub- 95 foundation of the rails, substantially as-show'n auddeScribed-mhereby the rails are prevented stantially centrally of the rails and adapted to the contour of the web and upper face of the base, bolts passing through the vertical mein- .1

ber of the plates and through the web, and bolts passing through the vertical member of spikes projected through the horizontal menithe plates and through the web, and spikes ber of the plates only and into the foundation projected through the overhanging portion of of the rails, substantially as and for the purthe horizontal member of the plat-es and into 15 5 pose herein set forth. the rail-bed, substantially as and for the pur- 3. The combination,with rails united by fishpose herein set forth. plates, of opposing angle-plates located between the ends of the rails away from the fish- THOS' DAVIES plates conforming to the contour of the Web WVitnesses: [o and upper face of the base, the horizontal mem- J. F. AQKER, Jr.,

her being adapted to extend beyond the base, 1 G. SEDGWICK. 

